Post sleeve apparatus



Sept. 14, 1965 A. A. WAGNER 3,205,634

POST SLEEVE APPARATUS Filed July 24. 1961 1 (-4- 1. yV- 2o zz INVENToR. AooLPH AWAGNER ATTORNQY United States Patent O 3,205,634 PDST SLEEVE APPARATUS Adolph A. Wagner, 3454 N. Shephard Ave., Milwaukee, Wis. Filed July 24, 1961, Ser. No. 126,241 1 Claim. (Cl. 52-704) This invention relates to post sleeve apparatus for concrete foundations to facilitate erection of structures thereon by inserting posts, legs, or other appropriate parts within such sleeves.

When a permanent structure is to be erected upon a concrete foundation appropriate means must be provided for anchoring the structure in the concrete. The methods formerly employed by the building trade in providing anchoring holes creates problems of which the following are a few illustrations.

Prior to this invention the most commonly used method was to place a bottle within the liquid concrete which was withdrawn either before or after the concrete has fully set. This method has several disadvantages. The bottle seldom provides openings of the required dimensions. Quite frequently thebottle is broken during its removal from the concrete,creating eXtra work aswell as a safety hazard.

Another method is' to insert lengths of pipe of appropriate size into the liquid concrete and allow them to remain therein permanently. The peculiar disadvantage of this method is that the top rim of the pipe is often left exposed to the atmosphere after the erection of the post, and in time an unsightly rust ring forms on the surface of the foundation.

A further disadvantage common to both of the above methods is that from the time the concrete is poured to the time the structure is installed, sand, gravel and other material common to construction site accumulate in the holes. Removal of such material is time consuming. Covering such holes with a brick or cardboard is not very effective since such covers invariably get knocked off before the use of the hole and may create a safety hazard.

In view of the foregoing, the principal object of this invention is to provide post sleeve apparatus which is not subject to the above disadvantages and yet is easy to install and of reasonable cost. More specifically, the objects are to provide a post sleeve which provides an accurate anchoring hole which will not fill up with debris, does not create a safety hazard, and Will not produce an unsightly rust ring.

The objects of this invention are provided by a post sleeve apparatus which includes a hollow sleeve member having a closure means at the bottom end thereof and a removable cover for the top end of the sleeve. The cover has a depending flange adapted for frictional engagement With the sleeve to hold the cover in place on the sleeve. The cover has a flat top surface adapted for flush alignment with the surface of the concrete foundation in which the post sleeve apparatus is installed and also has a tapered skirt portion between the depending flange and flat top surface for spacing the top surface from the end of the sleeve when the cover is fully installed on the sleeve.

With the cover thus installed on the sleeve, the sleeve is embedded in the fresh concrete with the flat top surface of the cover flush with the finished surface of the concrete. During the period between the time the concrete is poured and a structure is erected on the foundation, debris, water, etc., will be kept out of the sleeve by the cover. When it is desired to erect a structure the cover is simply removed and a structural member such as a rail post is inserted in the sleeve. The surface of the concrete will be spaced a short distance from the top edge of the sleeve so that when the post is anchored in the sleeve by filling it with grout the top rim of the sleeve will be cov- "ice ered to thus prevent the occurrence of an unsightly rust ring around the base of the post.

From a commercial point of view the sleeves lend themselves easily to manufacture in certain predetermined standard sizes. Since the majority of structural parts are presently standardized through the industry, the proper diameter sleeve can be made for use with the corresponding structural shape. In this manner the correct type of aperture can be provided for use with any given structural member. Since the covers are re-useable they do not add materially to the cost of erection.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out in or be apparent from the specification and claim, as will obvious modifications of the single embodiment shown in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of a railing erected upon a concrete slab with the railing posts anchored in the slab by post sleeve apparatus made in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of a post sleeve and cover embedded in a concrete slab with part of the sleeve broken away; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the post sleeve shown in FIG. 2 with the cover removed and a post installed therein.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 2 shows the post sleeve 10 comprising a cylindrical shell 12 and a bottom 13 attached thereto. The bottom 13 can be crimped, spot welded, or fastened by any other appropriate method to the shell 12. A convenient method, although not an essential one, is to provide the bottom with a rim 14 and then fasten the rim to the shell 12.

A cover 15 is secured in the open top 11 of the post sleeve. The cover 15 has a flat top surface 16 whose diameter is somewhat larger than the inside diameter of the cylinder 12. Cover 15 has a depending skirt 17 which tapers inwardly to a depending flange which fits snugly in opening 11 with a sliding friction fit.

Cover 15 is inserted into sleeve 10 until skirt 17 makes contact with the top rim 21 of the sleeve as shown in FIG. 2. In this position the top surface 16 will be vertically spaced a specific distance above the top rim of the sleeve, such distance being determined by the design of skirt 17.

With the cover 15 thus installed in the post sleeve 10 it is ready for use. To use, the sleeve (with cover installed) is inserted (or pre-positioned) in the freshly poured concrete with the surface 16 of cover 15 flush with the finished surface 20 0f concrete 19 (FIG. 2). The post sleeve and cover remain in this position until the use of the post sleeve for erection purposes. During this interim no debris, water, etc. can enter the sleeve.

The actual use of the post sleeve is shown in FIG. 3 wherein cover 15 is removed leaving a chamfered edge 22 around the opening in the concrete. A pipe post 23 is inserted within the sleeve 10 and allowed to rest on the bottom 13 of the sleeve. If the sleeve has been properly installed, bottom 13 will be parallel with the surface 20 of the concrete and thus post 23 will be perpendicular to the concrete surface. Furthermore, by making sleeve 10 and cover 15 of standard dimensions the distance from the end of pipe 23 and the surface of the concrete can be accurately determined and maintained to facilitate preassembly of a rail structure such as shown in FIG. 1 before transport to the construction site. After positioning the pipe post 23, grout fill 24 or some other appropriate material is placed between the pipe post 23 and the walls 12 of the sleeve. The grout is filled to the top of the opening, thus covering the top edge 21 of the post sleeve. By this procedure no rust ring will develop on the surface of the concrete 10.

A practical application of the invention is shown in FIG. 1 wherein a railing structure 25 is erected upon a concrete foundation, the legs of the railing being anchored in the concrete by means of a plurality of post sleeves 10.

Although the above description illustrates a cylindri- Cal sleeve, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art, that the invention may be embodied in a sleeve having any desired cross-sectional form for use with I-beams, channels and other structural shapes.

Although but one embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein Without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

Post sleeve apparatus for installation in a concrete foundation to provide anchoring holes therein for receiving posts comprising:

a cylindrical sleeve member having an open end at which the cross-section of said member forms an axially exposed edge;

a flat bottom closure means on the other end of said sleeve member secured in a perpendicular relationship to said sleeve member;

a removable cover for the open end of said sleeve member;

said cover having a dependent flange thereon in frictional engagement with the inside Wall of said sleeve member to hold said cover in place on said sleeve member;

said cover further having a flat top surface of greater diameter than the outside diameter of said sleeve and adapted for ush alignment with the surface of the concrete foundation in which the post sleeve apparatus is installed; and

a tapered member connecting the periphery of said top surface and said dependent llange and spacing said top surface from the end of the sleeve and parallel to said bottom closure means when the cover is fully installed on the sleeve and permitting the material in which the post sleeve is installed to cover said exposed edge.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 650,446 5/00 Barr 52-204 1,302,057 4/19 Knight 52-221 X 1,645,903 10/ 27 Garber 52-708 1,965,639 7/ 34 Glass 52-204 1,991,087 2/35 Falcon 52,-297 2,053,943 9/ 36 Carlson 52-221 2,229,075 1/41 Haggart 52-298 2,315,516 4/43 Gray 52-298 X 2,624,307 1/53 Caffrey 52-169 X 2,767,878 10/56 Brown 220-42 RICHARD W. COOKE, IR., Primary Examiner.

CORNELIUS D. ANGEL, HENRY C. SUTHERLAND,

JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Examiners. 

